Pro-life advocates say major media outlets are not giving the gruesome murder trial of abortionist Kermit Gosnell the coverage it deserves — and they are taking to social media in an effort to break through what they say is a “blackout.”

Be warned — the details are horrifying.

Gosnell, a Pennsylvania abortionist, faces seven counts of first-degree murder for allegedly killing seven infants born alive during abortions. Prosecutors say he used scissors to cut the spinal cords of the born-alive infants. Some of the dead have been described as “beheaded.”

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And these seven slain innocents do not reflect the full horror. One staffer testified that he saw more than 100 babies born and then killed.

USA Today columnist Kirsten Powers says the case shows that major media have “forgotten what belongs on page one.”

It’s not your fault. Since the murder trial of Pennsylvania abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell began March 18, there has been precious little coverage of the case that should be on every news show and front page.

Journalist and media commentator Mollie Hemingway agrees. She says the same media that gave wall-to-wall coverage of the Komen Foundation funding for Planned Parenthood, Republican gaffes on abortion, and the Sandra Fluke / Rush Limbaugh controversy has given conspicuously little attention to the case.

In the face of this lack of coverage, several pro-life leaders have organized a Facebook event to put this grisly story in the public eye, beginning at noon Eastern Time today, Friday. They are asking pro-lifers to contact their local media asking for coverage and to post both pre-written and original status updates to Twitter, Facebook and other forms of social media to raise awareness of the case.

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If enough people use the phrase “#Gosnell” in a Tweet, it becomes a trending topic that can break into the public consciousness.

Actress Patricia Heaton has already helped break the blackout. Referring to Notre Dame football player Manti Te’o, she tweeted:

She’s been re-tweeted over 2,400 times, Twitter says. That’s how you break into the public eye.

Not to be forgotten is the 2009 death of a Virginia woman, who was allegedly killed after Gosnell’s untrained staff administered an overdose of a drug. Gosnell faces one count of third-degree murder in that case.

In a country where legal abortion supposedly made the procedure “safe” and where President Obama himself has opposed legislation to protect unborn infants who survive abortion, it is no surprise that the Gosnell case is taboo.

But if pro-lifers continue to organize to confront this unspeakable corruption, they’ll succeed in combating one of the great injustices of our time.

Kevin Jones

Kevin Jones has been writing for Catholic News Agency since 2007. Follow him on Twitter @kevinjjones